A bookshop selling only female authors pops up in London for International Women’s Day

If you fancy a refresh of your bookshelves, why not check out a very special bookstore that is in London for the next couple of days.

The Like A Woman bookstore from Penguin Random House will be at Rivington Street in East London until 6.30pm on 9 March to mark International Women’s Day and will be stocking books only from female authors. Literary heavyweights like Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood, Mary Shelley and Zadie Smith will be represented as well as up-and-coming authors.

There will be plenty of titles on women’s history, books written by women in science, female poets and some inspirational manuals like Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In or Caitlin Moran’s How to be a Girl. The bookshop is also hosting events focused on topics as diverse as ‘the female gaze’, life lessons and beauty.

The profits from the events will be donated to Solace Women’s Aid that supports more than 11,000 Londoners affected by domestic violence. If you’re unable to get a ticket, you can also purchase a book to donate to the charity which will be given to someone who requires their support.

The pop-up bookstore will also forego the traditional browsing categories. Instead, readers can be inspired by ‘essential feminist reads’, ‘inspiring young readers’ or categories dedicated to changemakers or the body.

“Women’s voices being heard and taken seriously is key to achieving gender equality” said Zainab Juma from Penguin Random House. “With The Like A Woman Bookshop we’re making room for those voices to be elevated and celebrated. We’re creating a space where readers can look to incredible writers, activists and pioneers for the inspiration to go forward and make change like a woman.”

This year’s International Women’s Day is a particularly important one in the UK as 2018 also marks the centenary anniversary of when some women first won the right to vote. There are a host of celebrations all around the country throughout the year with some coinciding with 8 March.